Are You a Chronic Procrastinator?

If you are one to procrastinate constantly you may want to change this bad habit. It could affect how you are perceived, and people might even use it against you. It’s easy to get into this habit, and sometimes difficult to get out of it.

When you procrastinate, you send a signal to others that you don’t care. People will tire of this and lose trust in you. They aren’t going to depend on you if they have to keep after you to get tasks completed. Use the following to curb your habit of procrastinating.

Make a to-do list. You may do this for work. But, do you also use a list for your personal life? If not, start using them now. Do it every day. When you get in the habit of creating a to-do list, it becomes easier to refer to the list. Of course, you need to do what is on that list. Otherwise, you are wasting time creating one.

Sometimes, it will take several attempts before you start using it consistently. That’s okay. Just keep going until it becomes a routine. If you skip a day, pick up where you left off.

Prioritize the items on your list. If you fill your to-do list with twenty or more items, you are going to overwhelm yourself. You need to get the most important items completed first. Put those at the top of the list. Remember to carry over items that didn’t get done from the day before.

Create an online reminder using tools like Google Calendar, or something similar. Again, make sure the most important items come first. Ideally, the tool you use should be cloud based so you can access from anywhere and from any device.

If you still procrastinate after creating a to-do list and a calendar, focus on what the consequences of not getting tasks are. For instance, if you are late on your bills, you are going to get hit with late fees and in some cases, interest rate charges. Plus, it will take a toll on your credit rating which means financing is going to be more expensive for you (if you can get it at all).

You may also get passed up for a promotion at work if your boss knows you’re a chronic procrastinator. If you can’t get your current work completed, how can you be given even more responsibility by taking on a promotion? Don’t let this happen to you.